Drones kills Taliban, al Qaeda leader

LA Times:
An apparent U.S. drone strike early Thursday in northwest Pakistan killed a top Pakistani Taliban commander also serving as a key Al Qaeda operative, local officials said.
The death of Badar Mansoor, 35, comes as the U.S. steps up its pace of drone missile strikes following a six-week hiatus after an American airstrike accidentally killed Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border in November.
The predawn strike occurred in North Waziristan, the volatile tribal region that serves as sanctuary for several militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban and the wing of the Afghan Taliban known as the Haqqani network. The blast hit Mansoor’s compound near a cattle market in Miram Shah, North Waziristan’s largest town.
Pakistani intelligence sources described Mansoor as an Al Qaeda operative who also led a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the country’s homegrown insurgency. He was believed to be from Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, and was responsible for bringing scores of Punjabi militants to Taliban camps in North Waziristan.
The strike was the second in North Waziristan in a week. A U.S. missile attack Wednesday on a hideout belonging to militants loyal to Mansoor killed 10 militants in the village of Spelga, local officials said.
... 
This likes a good kill that should limit enemy effectiveness.  Pakistan does not appear to be complaining about the strike at this point and it is possible it may have cooperated in the attack.  Attacks on Taliban leadership are probably going to be used more often as the number of al Qaeda targets have shrunk through attrition.

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